A POLICEMAN who has been using a motorcycle that was seized in an anti-illegal drugs operation was arrested on Tuesday, April 28.
Patrolman Orlando Estrella Perez, 32, was arrested at his residence on Kagitingan St, Calumpang, Marikina City on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Integrity Monitoring Enforcement Group (IMEG).
Found in his possession was a motorcycle confiscated during an anti-illegal drugs operation on April 5, 2020. Perez was assigned to the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit of the National Capital Region Police Office.
Brigadier General Ronald Lee, IMEG chief, said the motorcycle was not included in the inventory of pieces of evidence seized during the said police operation.
Lee said Perez did not declare the recovery of the motorcycle from the arrested drug suspect as part of evidence.
“There will be no respite in the crackdown against scalawags amid the enhanced community quarantine against Covid-19. This is in line with our continuing effort to identify and arrest PNP personnel who illegally use recovered and carnapped vehicles and motorcycles that were inventoried as evidence in police operations as part of the massive internal cleansing program ordered by the PNP Chief General Archie Gamboa,” Lee said in a statement.
The accused was placed under the custody of PNP-IMEG for proper disposition and filing of appropriate charges.
Under the PNP Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) No. 7, or the Revised Procedure in the Reporting and Disposition of Stolen and Recovered/Impounded Motor Vehicles released on April 12, 2011, no PNP personnel shall use a recovered-stolen or impounded motor vehicle or cause the use thereof by any person prior to the lifting of the "alarm" issued thereon and the subsequent release of said motor vehicle to its lawful owner.
Removal of any part or accessory of the recovered-stolen/impounded motor vehicle is also punishable under this measure.
“Administrative charge will be filed against any personnel proven guilty of illegal use of those vehicles, while his/her immediate superior will be also included in the investigation under the doctrine of ‘command responsibility’,” Gamboa had said.
For his part, NCRPO Director Debold Sinas asked Lee to pursue the filing of criminal and administrative charges against the suspect and to determine his other possible cohorts with the help of the NCRPO-regional intelligence division.
Sinas revealed that Perez was among the NCRPO personnel who were suspected of involvement in illegal drugs, specifically, pilferage of evidence and “hulidap” incidents.
He said Perez is a former personnel of SDEU of Marikina City police station and companion and member of the group of Lieutenant Elmer Rigonan, who was caught pilfering 17 grams of shabu that was part of the recovered 30 grams of shabu in a joint RDEU and Marikina City Police Station anti-drug operation last April 6, 2020.
Rigonan declared having seized only 13 grams of shabby during the said operation.
Rigonan and all other members of SDEU of Marikina CPS were relieved last April 6, 2020.
Sinas said all personnel of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit, NCRPO will be relieved and reassigned to other NCRPO units. They will also be subjected to drug test on Wednesday.
He said investigation is still ongoing and joint Tactical Interrogation will be conducted by RSOG and IMEG to ascertain the depth of their involvement in illegal drugs activities in NCRPO. (SunStar Philippines)